New Paltz, NY — The No. 12 State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team opened up its 2024 season Wednesday night in the Hawk Center in dominating fashion, coming away with a 3-0 sweep over visiting Rutgers-Newark (25-22, 25-14, 25-20).
 
The Hawks (1-0 overall, 0-0 UVC) held the advantage in nearly every category, but the biggest difference was in serving. SUNY New Paltz tallied 14 aces as a team while limiting the Scarlet Raiders to two. Seniors Pat Wing and Christopher Larkin led the charge with three apiece, while senior AJ Fitzgerald and sophomores Krish Jain and Daniel Shanley each had a pair.
 
"[Feeling] super electric, had a lot of fun," Jain said. "It's always good to be in the Hawk Center, especially to open up our season and be able to get a good team win. A lot of guys stepped up. I'm really happy for the team and to see what we can do going forward."
 
After the opening point, SUNY New Paltz never trailed again in the first set and took a 9-4 lead early following a kill by Fitzgerald leading to Rutgers-Newark's first timeout. The Hawks stayed in control from there and never let the visitors get within more than four for the remainder of the set until a 3-0 run at 22-16 trimmed the score to 22-19. The Hawks answered, as freshman Matt Marusza set sophomore Mike Handell for the kill. The two teams then traded service errors, which helped SUNY New Paltz to get to set point before another serving error handed the hosts a 25-22 win and a 1-0 lead in the match.
 

The Hawks rolled through the second set and extended their lead to 22-12, as George Mason transfer Daniel Shanley came in for his first action as a Hawk. The sophomore served two straight bullets, which were shanked into the crowd on the attempted reception to bring the score to 22-12. He served into the net on the next point, but a kill by Larkin and an attacking error brought SUNY New Paltz to set point shortly after. Fitzgerald then put the finishes touches on the 2-0 lead, smashing down a kill to end the set off an assist from Shanley.
 
"Dan is a great player and we're super happy to have him," Jain said. "We'll see how his role continues to develop on the team, but yeah super stoked to have that guy."  
Rutgers-Newark took an early 6-5 lead in the third, but a 6-0 run by the Hawks put them back out in front with Larkin serving through the stretch as he helped back-to-back blocks for Bennett Petrik, while tallying an ace during the run.
 
The Scarlet Raiders climbed back to get within one at 17-16, but the Hawks stymied the rally with a kill by Larkin off an assist by freshman Patrick Soulias. Rutgers-Newark retaliated with a kill, but SUNY New Paltz scored six of the last nine points, two of which came on serving errors. Larkin set up match point at 24-20 following another kill and Adam Brawn closed out the night on a game-winning ace.
 
"I guess we've just been keeping the next point mentality," Jain said. "When we mess up or anything like that, I think we're doing really well of coming together, forgetting about it, next point and then just going from there."
 
The Hawks out-hit the Scarlet Raiders, .274 to .197. Wing, Jain and Larkin led the team in kills with eight, six and four, respectively. Last year's UVC Co-Rookie of the Year, Jain, had a solid day to open up his second season for the blue and orange, hitting a productive .455 while adding two blocks and two digs for nine points. Marusza led the team in assists with 14, while adding an ace, a block and three digs in his SUNY New Paltz debut. Larkin had a career game as the senior hit .429 with four kills on seven attempts, while adding an assist and a team-leading seven digs to go along with three aces on the night in his first game action since April 10, 2022 after taking the 2023 season off.
 
"Chris has been a great leader," Jain said. "We don't have a lot of seniors on the team this year, so all of our older guys have been stepping up and doing their best to keep the team together. I think he's been doing a great job at that."
 
The Hawks return to action this weekend as they participate in the 2024 Fenway Volleyball Classic where they will play two matches at Wentworth Institute of Technology Saturday and close out with a pair of matches at Emmanuel College Sunday.

Post-Game Featuring Krish Jain


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